


and when we look to the future, there you are

by aeriamamaduck



Series: Alyosha [4]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Adoption, Anxiety, Children, Dolls, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Dreams and Nightmares, Fatherhood, M/M, Makkachin is very old, Parenthood, Post-Series, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-21 11:11:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11356302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeriamamaduck/pseuds/aeriamamaduck
Summary: Alyosha sleeps. Victor dreams. Yuuri hopes.





	and when we look to the future, there you are

**Author's Note:**

> Erm, I guess my first oneshot for the fandom spawned a series? xD

"Oh my God!"

 

Yuuri woke with a gasp and shot up in a panic, panting erratically and immediately reaching for his cellphone, the screen coming to life with a swipe and illuminating him and Victor, who was in a similar state. 

 

He stared at his husband, taking in the wide and frantic gaze and his disheveled hair. "What's the matter?"

 

Victor, panting like he'd been drowning, turned to look at him as he began to relax, shoulders sagging and dragging a hand through his hair. "Oh, God...I had the most awful dream. I went grocery shopping and brought Alyosha with me, and then I couldn't find him." He fell back on the pillows, exhaling heavily and rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I looked everywhere and I couldn't find anyone to help me find him." 

 

Sighing in relief, Yuuri lay down and wrapped his arms around Victor's waist, pressing his ear to the man's chest and listening to his still-thundering heartbeat. Alexei, whom they had begun to affectionately call Alyosha, arrived in their home two days before, timid but trusting. It had been a long road of serious talks, fantasies, and legal processes to get to where they were, and at twenty-nine Yuuri suddenly became a father. "It was just a dream. Alyosha's fine," he said softly, growing sleepy once again now that they'd calmed down.

 

But Victor sighed and slowly got up from under Yuuri and left the bed. "I need to check on him."

 

"Victor! You're just going to wake him up."

 

"I'll be quiet," Victor insisted before leaving the room. Yuuri peered down at the foot of the bed, noting that the commotion hadn't disturbed Makkachin at all. The old dog was fast asleep, snoring lightly and blissfully unaware that anything was amiss. Yuuri smiled indulgently, glad that at least someone in the room was getting their rest.

 

He lay back down and closed his eyes, hoping Victor returned. When Yuuri realized that a few minutes had passed he thought that maybe Alyosha was indeed awake, and Victor had to put him back to sleep.

 

Soon Victor came back in, shutting the door softly and smiling contentedly. "He's fast asleep."

 

"Thank God," Yuuri murmured, patting Victor's side of the bed and closing his eyes again. "Now come back to bed. It's almost two in the morning, and if you're not sharp tomorrow, Yurio's going to kill you, and I'll end up a very eligible widower with an adorable son and an ancient dog."

 

 

Two major changes had occurred in the years before Alyosha's adoption. Victor had broken his ankle just as the season was about to begin nearly two years before, and he'd had to sit it out while Yuuri and Yurio skated without him as a competitor for the second time. He'd made a marvelous recovery but it was enough to make him realize that he would likely have to retire soon. He was over thirty and jumps were so much harder on his knees. The aftermath of Yuuri winning that year's gold medal had been bittersweet for them, as they talked and argued for weeks over what direction Victor's career would take. Some of those talks had included Yurio, whose body had changed dramatically in those years. Victor's ankle fracture had frightened him, and even his opinion was divided.

 

Then Yakov had a health scare that had everyone wondering if he would pull through. It had been a series of sleepless nights for everyone at the rink, and even Lilia. The old man was as stubborn as ever, and he recovered. Like Victor, however, he made his own realization; he couldn't keep coaching his charges for much longer.

 

There was a long talk at the rink after weeks of Victor more or less taking charge of coaching Yurio and Mila in addition to Yuuri. It ended with Victor deciding he was retiring as a competitive skater and would continue coaching Mila and Yurio. 

 

Yakov thrived after his retirement, periodically checking in on them to make sure everyone was still in one piece. He would never go as far as telling Victor he was doing an excellent job, but he did admit that Yurio and Mila were still on track, and he trusted Victor's assessment of Yuuri's skill.

 

With a lot of discussion and time, he got used to sharing his coach's attention, knowing that at the end of the day it was still just the two of them, and eventually they started talking about children. Yuuri would take the season off, practicing and getting Alyosha adjusted to his home and school once they got him registered. He wasn't quite ready to quit the ice altogether in favor of coaching or giving lessons, but the next year was going to be important for all of them as they adjusted to new rhythms.

 

Victor settled back into bed and facing Yuuri, who offered his hand and squeezed when Victor laced their fingers together in a familiar gesture of comfort. "I hate having those nightmares," Victor murmured, pressing his forehead against Yuuri's and closing his eyes. 

 

"I know," Yuuri said. Even before Alyosha came into their lives, both of them had been plagued by doubts and terrors as they began the adoption process. There were entire weeks when Victor fell into states of depression, and he wondered aloud if he was even suited to be a parent. Yuuri experienced similar hurdles, panicking at the thought of their child growing to hate them, him in particular. 

 

They both spent hours on the phone with Yuuri's parents, hanging on to them for support and reassurance that they would be fine, and they had so many people supporting them.

 

There were dreams and nightmares, some that had them holding on to each other in fear that soon faded, and others that had them laughing over breakfast, such as one Victor had two months ago where a kid-sized clone of Yuuri was driving a Makkachin-shaped bus while Yurio screamed on the roof.

 

Victor gave a little contrite hum and said, "Sorry. You're probably just as nervous as I am."

 

"I'm terrified," Yuuri replied, voice filled with exhaustion and not exactly reflective of the statement. "But right now I know he's safe, and I'm...pretty sure he's comfortable."

 

It was true. Alyosha was shy, but that was to be expected. He was curious and visibly lit up at the sight of Makkachin, tentatively patting the dog on the head. He gave little smiles for every selfie Victor took, ones he wasn't going to post to social media, and he nodded enthusiastically when Yuuri asked if he liked the pork cutlet bowl he'd made in welcome, his cheeks adorably filled. 

 

"He loves you," Victor reassured him, pressing himself close to Yuuri and wrapping his arms around him. "It looks like he already takes after me."

 

Yuuri smiled against silver hair. "He loves you too. And I'll love you even more if we go back to sleep. Please."

 

-

 

Sipping his coffee, Yuuri was glad he'd started actively learning Russian after Victor became his coach. For Alyosha's benefit they all spoke in Russian, though Victor harbored fantasies of their son eventually carrying on entire conversations in Japanese. For now Yuuri spoke in his lightly accented Russian as they ate breakfast.

 

"Are you excited about meeting everyone at the rink, Alyosha?" Victor asked with a smile.

 

Alyosha nodded as he chewed his cereal, swallowing and asking for the fourth time, "So you're  _really_ Mila Babicheva's coach? She's really gonna be there today?"

 

"Definitely," Yuuri said, amused to find that his son had apparently harbored a little crush on his rinkmate after an older girl at the group home showed him clips of Mila taking silver at the GPF. "Mila's excited to meet you too."

 

The boy's eyes widened, as did his smile, and he was almost vibrating with excitement by the time he finished eating.  

 

Yuuri hoped their mornings would start like this forever, with Alyosha's bright face and their collective excitement to start the day. Their son had both of their last names, but Victor insisted that they use Yuuri's name for Alyosha's patronymic. His name was already a mouthful, and Victor knew Yuuri was anxious to feel as connected to their Russian-born son as possible. And so he was Alexei Yuryevich Nikiforov-Katsuki.

 

Yuuri had spent Alyosha's first night at home sounding it out to himself before falling asleep with a smile on his face. 

 

Victor frowned slightly when his eyes fell on the bear set on the corner of the table beside Alyosha, and he asked, “Why is there an arm coming out of your bear, Alyosha?”

 

Yuuri blinked and looked at the bear the boy seemed to carry everywhere, and saw that it indeed had a plastic arm sticking out of an open seam at the back. Alyosha flushed and pulled the bear to him, giving Yuuri and Victor an anxious look before he pulled a plastic doll out of the seam, biting his lip and holding it close to his chest. “A big girl named Olga gave her to me," he explained in a small voice. "Said she didn’t need her anymore after she got adopted because her new parents already got her nicer dolls.”

 

Victor gave Yuuri a knowing look and smiled as he looked at the doll, whose red hair was very messily cut to the point where it stood up. “She’s very pretty. What happened to her hair?”

 

“…A bigger boy stole her and cut it,” Alyosha mumbled, covering the doll's head. “Then I hid her inside a special bear the nurse made for me. I didn’t know if it was okay for me keep her.”

 

Yuuri's heart clenched as he imagined Alyosha's worry, even if he was obviously happy to be adopted. “Of course you can keep her," he said, reaching over to ruffle Alyosha's light brown hair. "You don’t have to hide her inside your bear anymore. She’s perfectly safe here.”

 

“Really?!” the boy asked, looking at them both with wide and awed light blue eyes. 

 

“Really,” Victor confirmed, taking the gutted bear and looking at the seam at the back. "And if you want we can stuff this fellow and sew him up properly so your doll has her friend back. What do you say?"

 

Alyosha bolted out of his chair and into Victor's arms, hugging him tight and exclaiming, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

 

Yuuri smiled at the sight, and felt a surge of gratitude for that unknown nurse's kindness towards a little boy. "We need to get ready to go soon," he said, greedily drinking in the look of bliss on Victor's face as he hugged their son. "Mila's dying to meet you, and I don't think Yurio wants to wait much longer either."

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr: **aeriamamaduck**


End file.
